Manufacture of cord fabrics.



T. SLGPBR. MANUFACTURED? 001m .FABEIGS.

APPLIMTION FILED R28, 1910. Patented May 30, 19H

3 BHEETSSHEET 1.

QT. SLOPER. MANUFACTURE OF 001m FABRICS.

Patented May 30, 1911.

3 SHEETS SHEET 2.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, 1910. V

Patented May 30, 193i.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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- T. SLOPER;

MANUFACTURE OF CORD FABRICS.

APPLIOATIOH FILED JAILZB, 1910.

- www 4 W Z ll. 2 NH y a W9 2 M W .T HWEI 9w nu cord fabrics for pneumatic tires and other I "gig ,4; mg a. in.

THOMAS SLQPEE, t3 EEVKZES,

MANUFACTURE OLE CORD FABRICS.

Specification of Letters latcnt. fffatvgnije l Application filed. Zanuar v" Q8, 1910. Serial No. 549,512.

To (11 who mz't concern:

'Bc it known that I, Tl-[OUAS Stores, a subject of the King of England, residing at J Devizes, in Wiltshire, l lngland, have invented certain new and u. ciul lmprovd ments in the ivianufacture of Cord Fabrics, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to the manufacture of cord fabrics and mechanism therefor and has particular reference to the manufacture of rubbered crowding or gaping of the cords. According to the present invention this result is obtained by the employment of a cord ma ie of uniform diameter throughout but whose cross .ectional shape is afterward varied according to the distances at which the central. axes of the different portions to be situated from each other, when in position in the fabric. Thus for instance, a cord may be employed whose cross-section at that portion which to lie at the edge of the tire has a major and minor axis, the minor axis being intended to be disposed parallel to the face of the fabric, but at a point farther along the same cord may be approximately square in cross-section, and at a point, say sufficiently far along to lie at the tread, the shape in cross-section may be the same as that at the edge, but although the cord has not been twisted the major axis may now lie parallel to the face of the fabric. From this it will be seen that tie variations of the cross-sectional shape of the cord may be so calculated for any given form of fabric that when in place the different cord portions lie side by side flush with each sther and close to each other throughout theii length so that a smooth and. closed surface is presented.

In the accompanying drawings 5-Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of tire fabric made up of a cord constructed according to this invention, Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same, Fig. 3 shows a length of cord viewed tromone side, Fig. 4 is an elevation of the left hand end of the cord, Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3, Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 of Fig. 3, Fig. 7 shows the length of cord illustrated in Fig. 3 turned over a quarter of a revolution so that a face is presented which is at 'i ht angles to that presented in Fig. 3, Fig.

purposes.

' I have before manufactured a tire fabric that is built up from a continuous cord whose crosssection has a major and a minor axis, the cord being doubled backward and forward on itself, so that its dillerent portions lie side by side. The cord portions were carried transversely across the tire and it will be seen that in making a curved fabric of this kind that is curved in two directions and wherein the cords traverse the line of curve the cords will be overcrowded ,atthe inner edge of the tire which affords a smaller circumference, or will gape apart at the larger circumference or tread-portion, thccentral axes of the cords must be closer together at the edges than at the tread or center of the fabric. To overcome this difiiculty the special cord referred to above was adopted in order that the cord could be laid atthe edge of the tire with its minor axis parallel with the face oi the fabric and then turned at the tread so that its major axis was brought parallel with the face of the fabric. Although this arrangement gives satisfactory results it has been found in practice that in the manufacture of some sizes of tires the adjacent cords at the tread portion necessarily overlap so that a stepped surface similar to that produced by the overlapping of tiles on a. roof is presented instead of an even surface. I have also bcfore proposed that alternatively the cord may be of varying diameters, the thin part comingih the long cord at certain specified intervals, and the thick part also at certain specified intervals. It is however difiicult to produce a cord of varying diameters as this necessitates the employment of a varvirlg number of strands for different parts oi the cord to increase or reduce the size of such closed even surface is provided without- 8 is an elevation of the left hand end of the cord shown in Fig. '4', Fig. 9 is a diagram-- shown in Fig. 5 and at A it is matic view in. plan of a machine for manufacturing the cord, Fig. 10 is a side elevationoi one of the rollers shown in Fig. 8, Fig. 11 is a plan of a pump disk or ring built of cord constructed according to this invention, Fig. 12 shows a section through the ring, Fig. 13 shows a length of cord shaped for building this ring, li i 1a is an elevation of the right hand end of the cord shown in Fig. 13, Fig. 15 shows the same length of cord turned through 90 so that a face is presented which is at right angles to that shown in Fig. 18, Fig. 1.6 is an vation oi? the right hand end of the c rd shown in. Fig. 1?, Fig. 17 is a section on the line 17-1? of; Fig. 15, Fig. 18 is a section on the line 18-18 of Fig. 15, and i9 is a section through a modified form of the ring shown in Fig. 11.

Like letters indicate like parts throughout e dmwings.

i. be seen that the laps of the cord i although extending from a circle sinalcr diameter to circle diameter-lie close together throughout the whole 01': the area covered by them and present a comparatively SHIOOtl'i surface. The central axes B oi the various laps of cord lie at varyin distances apart, that is to say, the axes B of the two laps near the line B are closer together than the axes B of the same two laps near the line B, yet each cord portion lies close to its neighbor throughout its length and is flush with the same so that a close even surface is provided without crowding or gapin The fabric shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is in tended for a tire and the cord used for constructing it has that face which is outwar 'ly vbuildi'hg up a fabric from cord is well known. The same face at the tread portion of the cover is made broad, as shown at A, and this again tapers down toward the part A where it is the same width as the part A and passes around the pins for securing the opposite side ot'the cover. The same cord viewed on the side that abuts against the neighboring lap of cord is broa'ost at A as shown in Fig. 7 and narrowest at A broadening out again at A. iat a point intermediate of the parts A and A the crosssectional area is approximately square as oblong as shown in Fig. 6. i

The cord is indented or notched as at A A, A the notches A and A. being employed'to' locate the cord relatively to the pins around which it is bent; the notches A should-lie at the center of the tread and assist the operator to aline the various laps as they are built into the cover. The marking may be used on cords that have no variations in shape to insure that each lap of cord shall be of the same length and under the same tension; also where depressions or recesses are used as marks they aid the binding'oi the cord around the staples or pins on the former Any convenient apparatus may be employed for manufacturing this cord one term of machine being illustrated by' way of example in Fig. 9. The cord may be of the well known kind usually employed by me for making tires and comprising a number of threads twisted or cabled together the whole being impregnated with rubber.. Conveniently it is in the'first instance of circular cross-seetion and is of the same diameter throughout. To give it the shape shown in Figs. 3- it is passed between eccentric rollers C, C", C, C. These rollers are connected together by bevel-wheels l) and one of the bevel-wheels with its roller is carried on. a driven shaft D whereby movement is transmitted to all the rollers. It will beseen that by properly shaping the eccentric rollers and making them of suitable diameter the opposite faces of the cord may be made to narrow and'expand at any required interval, the rollers being always so adjusted that the cross-sectional area of the cord is maintained practically constant and the threads whereof it is composed unbroken.

To indent the cord, one or more of the rollers may be provided with a projection C shown in elevation in Fig. 10, so that at each revolution of the roller a depression will be madein that face of the cord which the roller bears against and as the cordis fed evenly through the rollers these de pressions will be equi-distant.

It is important to maintain the cord at constant cross-sectional area throughout so that the tensile strength of the cord may be the same at all arts. In a cord constructed with varying diameters, the tensile strength of the thick parts of the cord is greater than that of the thin. Moreover, a tire fabric produced by a cord constructed according to the present invention is thinner at the tread than at the edges, whereas, that produced by the cord of varying diameters is thicker at the tread than at the edges.'

In the case of the cord of varying diameters nothing is gained by the greater strength of the fabric at those points Where the cord portions of larger diameter are situated as the ultimate strength of the cord is necessarily only that'of the streiigth of those parts which are of smallest diameter. Further, it is found inpractice to be advantageous to employ as thin a fabric,

as possible in pneumatic tires and this especially applies to the tread portion where eeeiew J ni; benciing when in use;

(es piece empioymema cord which is eross'seutlon mug nape, it is pose which is greetei the Wood than nio'yeii for bulkiisemi im'zo fabric we iroiiers i and or'other mechanism for i may be geared to the maiwo mechanisms '00- Qovioomythe inv em-iozi is not iestricfiieo to the variation in simpe of cord, shown in for different, purposes the shape Land insteadoi'f an eepzu'ziting fine vent-mi axes of contiguous ition being mainsect-ions of ooni in the fabric, "51% variotions in she ei'oss sectional form being pro ducod by suim iitiing the cox-6i to pressure described cor use in a fabric Whez '11 57" rd are'piaceci si my side air control. in nonpamiiei reigtion, the oross-sectionai form the cord 'nu'yin 3i pyeaiecermined inieivais 'ixii r gh fabric, form 33- 1 o in ein portions of side by side nonparzziiei reomn. of the cord Lowais fiiuoughv to tile variar central the cord. in suiizibie exiion in oross L 'I' in the Cross nai 1 502311 being produced by suhii i'iting pi'or to iaying it. L ribed oord for use in mg a fabric wheiein portions of nous cord W placed. side side oent'i'zz i n-pm'aiiei rela- '.es of similar of the cord ent points i in the distances 9, contimious their brie, the variabe np m'oiris including pIOvKiQ a series of by side with iie central ng' sectlo 5 n1 fienparaiiei i in COlCi being of the some 0' throughout its length win. cross-sectional form varied in conformity wii'h the variaiions in the diiinnoes seoamiing the central axes of 0' hereof in the fabric, the

e sectional fOllYl being ilvll g the cord io os'essure '1 ihe wherein portions of a continuous cord are hid side by side Wit-ii their central at varyl g distances apart a process of ouiidin the fabric consisting'in subjecting a cor? whose shape is in the first instance uniform throughout to pressure so applied. as to give n the cord a cro s-sectional shape that 'tions of lOH-S s of contiguous varies throughout according to the distances at which the central axes of the different portions are to be situated from each other and then laying the cord-portions so shaped .side by side and securing them together.

area of the cord constant, and then laying the shaped cord portions side by side and securing them together.

8. In the manufacture of a cord fabricwhereln portions of a continuous cord are laid side by side with their central axes at varying distances apart, a process of build- 7 ing up the fabric consist-in in subjectingn cord, whose shape is in t e first instance uniform throughout, to pressure, so applied as to give to the cord a cross-sectional shape that varies throughout according to the distances at which the central axes of the difierent portions are to be situated from each other while retaining the cross-sectional area of the cord constant, indenting the cord when giving it its varied cross-sectional shape so that those parts which are to occupy given portions in the fabric are indicated and adapted to bend more easily than the non-indented parts and then laying such indented portions side by side and securing them together.

In testimony WhereofI have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

THOMAS SLOPER. Witnesses:

H. D. JAMESON,

T. L. RAND. 

